Severe weather season has already brought a fair share of damaging storms to Missouri, even in the infant stages of the season. While Boone County has not seen many reports of severe weather yet this season, the Office of Emergency Management in Boone County says they remain on standby for the risk.
The Boone County Emergency Management office sits on the northern side of Columbia, with the Boone County Jail and Sherriff’s office, and is the base of operations for receiving 911 calls and dispatching, issuing information to the public and National Weather Service in Boone County, and other necessary information vital for public safety.
The office consists of 9 individuals, says deputy director Jacob Waller, each with their own personal responsibility ranging from damage mitigation and recovery to conducting training exercises with first responders.
Inside, the office has multiple conference rooms designated as communication centers, aiding in getting necessary information to the public, topped off by the main Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in the center of the building. Here, multiple computers lay centered around a projector at the front of the room.
“Each one of these (computers) are pods that can be setup functionally in a bunch of different ways,” said deputy director Waller, “all these computers can be programmed in any way we want to see them (depending on the situation.)”
There are 4 levels of emergency activation, following the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency’s (SEMA) guidelines. Level 4 is the lowest level of activation, and would have usually the minimum number of personnel on hand, such as just the directors for a localized flood or small fire potentially. Level 1 is the highest level of activation, with the entire command staff, full staffing of all emergency support functions in the County plus other state agencies and state-level partners. This is reserved for a maximum emergency situation, such as the Joplin tornado in 2011.
The EOC remains as one of the most advanced in the state and remains on standby for emergency situations.
The building was completed in 2016 and is one of the most advanced in the state, meeting over 300 standards designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which includes being able to withstand an EF5 tornado, multiple sources of electrical power, water, and sanitary systems on-site, as well as telecommunications services with multiple sources of connectivity.
Waller also spoke on the “Rave” system, in which residents of Boone County can opt in at this link to receive notifications of emergency situations or disasters in Boone county.
Read More: Boone County’s emergency management on standby as severe weather season begins